For the first 8 episodes as I watched and probed for fallacies, I wasn't sure what the viewers found problematic. It was really entertaining, true to the period-vampire genre, manageably melodramatic, okayishly romantic and the melodious music completely complemented the tone of the show. After that though, the melodrama heightens and believe me it's so hard to swallow. The scholar dude gets hurt so easily, stumbles around and falls in the arms of his lover way too often at the detriment of the show. I cringed hard at the bathtub scene. It was supposed to be romantic but it's so obviously wattpad romance, I'm not sure why he was 'in' the tub, he could just cut his wrist sitting outside🙄 And a little overacting from Joon Gi, I mean I understand the pressure to bring out the beast and the pain together but still...his pining for Yung Sun wasn't really my cup of tea.
About the plot; it's meticulous in its own way and the period Korea felt like a perfect place to harbour one or two vampires. But from the context of vampire literature the show offers nothing new, it has all been done before. Which is why as a viewer I wanted them to at least get the well-worn story right. If it's not original, it can at least be good among the knock offs...but it falters. I grew tired of the book seller girl and her unwavering love😑 And everyone is too willing to give up their lives, lets say the heroes are like that, but so many people just blatantly talk back to Gwi as if they have no will to live-_- And I needed a little more background for Gwi, they could've cut down on the 'Scholar-Book seller walk in the woods' a little to give the villain some body. And anyone would know that an obvious way to kill a vampire is to trap him in the sunlight...it's odd that no one could found a way to do that or even think about it.
But it wasn't bad, the costumes are good, the first half is really enjoyable and the romance had its ground when the scholar wasn't so willing to feel so much. The rain scene in the forest is my favorite. I think there was scope of more internalised complexities. The prime minister's daughter and the scholar could have a better arc and the prince and the book seller too to counter the obvious romantic leads. Crown prince totally liked the book seller girl but then his interest just suddenly transformed? It was weird.
And the ending needed to be tragic. I was hoping the prince would marry Yung Sun and they both would miss their lovers and still love each other in their grief. Anyways, this show has 20 long episodes but the end doesn't give you that giddy feeling you want after such a long ride. So, 7.5 from me. Even though the parts are not good on their own, the show holds its ground and the logic of the story keeps you around. There are some nice acting too - the double role of the queen/scholar's past lover was nice. Gwi delivers some nice expressions of loneliness and arrogance while looking really pretty. I ended up liking the gisaeng Hyun Soo, she was elegant and always aware of her priorities. And even though the music is blaring at times, ruining subtle scenes, the OSTs aren't bad on their own. So, not all that bad, I guess.